Ultimatum
by domina tempore
Summary: Ronon is accused by the Athosians of a terrible crime, and Teyla as leader must be his judge. But how can she chose between her people and her love? Birthday present for fyd818. Hugs! ON HIATUS.
1. prologue

_**Author's Note**__: This story was inspired by a friend of mine on a different fanfiction site (Atlantica), __**ploots**__ (thanks to you, by the way! :D). I was asking her for inspiration when I was still trying to decide what to do, and this idea came up. It worked out that I didn't have to use this there, so it's just been sitting around on my computer; but then I remembered that I had the perfect reason to post it! :D It's not quite done yet, but I will try my hardest to write/post in a timely fashion! _

_**Dedication**__: to _**fyd818**_, a birthday present ;) Hi girl! *waves* :D Been savin' this one up special for ya ;) You've been so nice to me and tolerated all of my insanity, I figured that the least I could do is give you a really awesome present :). I hope you like it! ('cuz you have no idea how hard it was for me to chose between this fic and "Kryptonite"; but don't worry, that one'll make it up eventually ;) LOL) :D *supermegatacklebearhugsX12000!*_

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**Prologue**

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Teyla stepped through the gate and immediately set a rapid pace towards the Athosian settlement, ignoring the man who had come for her. She knew him, but he was not Halling---and Halling _always _came to meet her; he insisted upon acting as her protector whenever they were together; her brother---which meant that there was something very wrong indeed.

She reached the village quickly, and was met by a scene of utter chaos. Everywhere people were shouting, as if all of her people had suddenly become one giant, screaming mob. Halling---who was always able to restore order---was still nowhere to be seen, and in the midst of the crowd, she saw Ronon.

He had come the day before to teach several of her people his fighting style; but she doubted very much that that was what this was.

His hands were bound behind him, and he was covered in blood. And two of her people were dragging him through the crowds, her people beating him as he passed. Then his pain-filled eyes caught sight of her.

He ripped away from his captors and pushed through the crowd for her, stumbling to his knees at her feet. She dropped to her knees beside him and took his battered face in her hands.

"Ronon, why…?"

"I'm sorry, Teyla," he gasped desperately, his eyes looking alarmingly wide in his bruised face. "I swear, I didn't know! I didn't know that anything was wrong, I promise!" He was jerked to his feet again, and they started to take him away from her.

"_STOP!"_Teyla cried. "What happened here? Where is Halling?"

"This man," one of her people pointed a dramatic, angry finger at Ronon, "this _traitor _tired to kill him! And we are going to try him, and punish him for what he has done."

"But the punishment for such a thing is-"

"Death? Exactly."

"You cannot condemn him before you have tried him!" Teyla shouted angrily.

"But we will condemn him. You have done the same thing, Teyla. You have condemned before. And we cannot make exceptions for your friend because his looks appeal to your sense of-" Before he could finish his accusation, Teyla had backhanded him across the face and he was on the ground, nursing a quickly bruising cheek.

"You will _never _speak to me that way again." Teyla whispered to him, her voice low and dangerous. "If you do, the next person that I will condemn will be you." She turned away from him, and raised her voice to her people.

"You will try him fairly, and you will let him speak in his own defense. As is our custom and my right as your leader, I will judge him; and unlike I have been _accused_, my judgment will be fair." She paused, but everyone had grown silent, waiting for her to continue. "You will secure him, and guard him, and wait for me," she commanded; and her orders were instantly obeyed. "We will do nothing until I have seen Halling."

------------

Teyla entered the healer's tent, and as the cloth door closed the sounds of outside were muffled, and the quiet was a relief. But the relief was short lived when she saw the healer.

"How is she?" she asked the old woman, her soft voice high with worry. The healer shook her head.

"Not well, I'm afraid. He is very badly hurt."

"Let me see him."

"You won't like it, Teyla."

"I want to see him," she said firmly, her voice still quiet, but no less powerful.

"Very well," she pulled aside a curtain that blocked a small section of the tent from the rest. Teyla gasped.

Halling was lying on a long pallet, the skin that stood out glowing pale, ashy gray. But the vast majority of him was red and raw from dark, oozing burns. His brow was slick with sweat, and hot to the touch. Teyla turned to the healer.

"What happened?" she asked her softly.

"No one knows for sure; he has been unconscious. I am sure you will hear of it at the trial."

"Has he spoken?" she knew that unconscious men often became delirious and spoke in their sleep. But the healer shook her head.

"No, he has not been awake since they brought him to me. Your Ronon carried him all the way back." Teyla's cheeks heated at the way that she said "_your _Ronon", but she pushed it aside.

"Back from where?"

"I am not sure. I believe someone said that they were inspecting the weapons cache." Teyla nodded very slowly, and stood up.

"Take care of him," she said softly. "Send for me immediately when he awakens." She couldn'g bear to use the word "if". "I will send someone back to the gate to get Dr. Beckett," she continued. "He can help you." The healer bowed her head reverently.

"I would be honored by his presence," she said earnestly, her seriousness almost enough to make Teyla laugh… almost. She knew that her people adored the Scottish doctor, but she sometimes forgot how much.

Her brief, innocent thought was rudely interrupted by sounds from outside. Things sounded on the verge of out-of-hand, and it worried her.

"Do not forget," she said to the healer, bowing to her respectfully before leaving the tent.

Upon exiting the refuge of the healer's place, she was bombarded by questions concerning Halling's wellbeing and Ronon's punishment and the situation that she wasn't even aware of, yet.

"Stop!" she shouted again. "Your questions will not heal Halling. And until I am told exactly what happened, I can pass no judgment on anyone." Her words seemed at least partially effective, because the crowed quieted, and parted like a wave so that she had a direct, clear path to get by them.

She stopped a boy briefly with instructions about bringing Dr. Beckett, and he ran off to do what he was told. Once he had gone, Teyla looked around for Ronon.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"He is at the other side of the settlement, where he awaits your judgment. We have arranged for the trial there." Teyla nodded, and walked briskly towards the place that the man who had spoken indicated, the rest of her people trailing behind her.


	2. chapter 1

**Chapter One**

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_**Twenty-Four Hours Earlier...**_

_Teyla tightened her grip on her bantos rods, facing her opponent from across the room. They'd both been at it for hours, and they were covered in sweat and bruises; butt he wasn't nearly ready to back down, and neither was she. She twirled one rod, her posture and expression taunting him, trying to goad him into action. _

_The corners of his lips twisted in a savage smile, and he accepted her challenge. He charged her. _

_It was exactly what she had been waiting for, and she was ready. Waiting until almost the last possible second, she side-stepped him, and before he had a chance to check his momentum, she had executed a whirling move that left him breathless and flat on his back. _

_"Match?" she asked, moving back to stand just out of his reach. He glanced up at her, at her self-satisfied grin, and smirked. _

_"I let you win, you know," he said as he pushed himself up. Teyla shook her head. _

_"I don't believe you; I actually had to work for this."_

_"So?"_

_"So, Ronon Dex, that is not something that I have to do when you "let me win". That is something that happens when you are trying to win, as well." He shrugged, trying to play innocent, refusing to satisfy her._

_"I got bored; I wanted it over anyways." She rolled her eyes. _

_"Please. You thought that running at me like you were crazy would confuse me and give you a chance. Though why you still do not expect me to use that move is beyond me..." Shaking her head, she grabbed two bottles of water from her bag, and tossed one to him. He accepted it, and downed more that half the bottle in one draught. Teyla laughed._

_"See?" she demanded, still pressing her point. "I made you work, too." Mimicking her earlier expression, Ronon rolled his eyes. _

_"Whatever makes you feel better." He threw his arm up just in time to catch the towel that she threw at him. He stared at it with mock seriousness for a second. _

_"That was the wrong thing to do," he said suddenly, looking up at her. "Trying to hit a man after you've already declared yourself the winner? That's dishonorable. You must be punished for your misdeed!" In two steps he was beside her, and he reached out and tickled her. Teyla slapped his hands away. _

_"It is you who has made the mistake, Specialist Dex," she said, her voice taking on a dark quality. "And now you also must pay the price!" And she attacked him in kind. Soon the two of them were engaged in an all-out war, chasing each other around the gym trying to tickle each other into submission._

_"Did I miss something?" They both turned around to see Sheppard standing in the doorway, watching them with an amused expression on his face. They glanced at each other, and then at him. Ronon rose to his full height and took a menacing step closer to his team leader. _

_"Don't you know better than to walk onto a battleground in the middle of a war?" he asked. John was unintimidated by the Satedan's looming bulk, and looked him straight in the eyes. _

_"Don't shoot the messenger; I was sent down here by a higher power to make sure that the two of you didn't get distracted; Ronon, you're supposed to be leaving for New Athos in like, an hour."_

_"An hour? It's that late already?"_

_"Mhm," John nodded. "And if you don't get your butt over there on time I think that you're going to have a bunch of mad, inexperienced but decidedly deadly students waiting for you on the other side of that gate." He glanced between Ronon and Teyla. "My suggestion would be that the two armies call a temporary truce until you get back."_

_"I still don't see why it has to be just me going today; they're Teyla's people."_

_"Elizabeth and I need her here today; don't worry, you'll see each other tomorrow, lovebirds." Ronon shared a glance with Teyla, and John instantly knew that he had said the wrong thing._

_"What do you think?" Ronon asked with deliberate slowness. "Should we temporarily form an alliance to drive the intruder out?" Teyla shrugged.  
_

_"What's the harm?" she played along, coming to stand beside her tall friend.  
_

_John ran. _

_"He did the right thing," Ronon said, grinning. Teyla shared it._

_"And, now that we have a few more minutes alone..." Her eyes said the rest._

_Their war continued..._

Teyla reached the clearing where her people had taken Ronon and would hold the trial, and stopped dead in her tracks. As she had ordered, he was secured and guarded in the middle of the clearing, but, somehow, the arrangement felt wrong to her; he should not be on display, staked out to be some spectacle for people to gawk over before he was condemned to death. And she _would _condemn him; her people would demand that he be punished for whatever they thought that he had done; and she did not think that she would be able to convince them of his innocence. Whether or not he had actually been the one to hurt Halling or not, there were no witnesses who could help him. Her people saw this as betrayal, and they would see justice done for that. She knew that if she tried to lighten his sentence, her people would simply see that as the bias that it was. She did not know how to judge him fairly enough to please her people and yet spare his life.

And there always was the chance, however unlikely, that she would find that he actually _had_ been part of whatever had happened. But even if that were so, could she still in good consciousness condemn the man that she loved?

She wished that she could have seen this coming and prevented it; that she could go back to the peace and _rightness_ of yesterday. This was a choice that no one should ever have to make; her people, her _family_, or her love. She did not think that she was strong enough to make that choice.

She blinked. Had it really only been yesterday that they had sparred and laughed and flirted? She had been on New Athos for less than an hour and already she felt exhausted, as if she had spent days and days here. This was going to be a long day.

She suddenly became aware again of the sea of voices behind her as her people waited for her to make a decision and move. She turned to them and lifted her voice.

"Only those that I call may come closer," she said, her mind working furiously as she chose from the larger Athosian council a council of Punishment. She hoped that she was choosing right as she called people who she thought would be both acceptable to her people and yet maybe show sympathy, if the right suggestion was made.

Finally she finished her selections---eight in all---and they crossed the clearing to the row seats that had been set up on the other side. Ronon tried to catch Teyla's eye as she passed, and it took all of her willpower to keep her eyes ahead. She needed time to steel herself; she could not bear to look into his eyes again. She was afraid to see the pain there; and she knew that she was not strong enough not to react.

She took her seat and her council followed, and everyone waited expectantly for her to begin the ritual vow. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke her vow it was in Athosian.

"I, Teyla Kaydin Emmagan, do swear to be fair and just, and to judge this man with honor; to treat him no differently than any other, whether he be brother or mortal enemy. The truth will be known, this I so swear.

"We all so swear," her people echoed.

Hiding her shaking hands, Teyla stood and turned to Ronon.

"Ronon Dex," she began, forcing her voice to remain firm and steady, "You stand here accused of terrible crimes; and if you are found to be guilty, you will be punished." She fought not to cringe; the playful words of their war were suddenly becoming very real and very dangerous. "You will speak in your own defense, and you will be completely honest when the time comes. Do you swear?" Slowly, he nodded.

"I do," he said, his voice sounding flat and unemotional to anyone who didn't know better. But Teyla did know better, and she knew that she had hurt him. _Did you really need to ask? _his eyes questioned, not understanding the tradition of Athosian trials.

Deliberately, Teyla raised her eyes to stare past him into the crowd.

"Those who will speak, whether for or against him, do you also swear to be honest and just with what you say?"

"We all so swear!" they answered again.

The ceremony went on for several more minutes as she issued the same ultimatum individually to each member of her council. Finally, that part was over, and the council members took their seats again. Teyla remained standing.

"Ronon Dex," she said his name again, careful to keep her voice neutral, "Step forward." All of his bindings except those that held his hands behind him were released, and he obeyed, coming forward as far as he dared while the people stood silent. His guards forced him to his knees, and Teyla looked down at him, though she still wasn't taller by much.

"Do you _know _the crimes of which you stand accused?" she asked. Ronon nodded meeting her eyes with his pain-filled ones and breaking her heart.

"I know," he said. "But I didn't do it, I swear! I don't know what the heck happened, but it wasn't me-!" One of the guards struck him in the face, silencing him.

"Be quiet!" he snapped, swearing at him in Athosian. "If she wanted to hear your pleas she would have asked. You are not to say anything more than is asked of you."

"Magen," Teyla interrupted him quietly. "I will deal with it." He immediately bowed his head in deference.

"As you wish," he said. Teyla turned to Ronon.

"Please be still," she whispered to him. "You will have your chance to speak." Ronon blinked, and nodded once.

Only those very close at hand heard the brief exchange; and Teyla continued after a moment in a louder voice.

"Do you know what your punishment will be if you are found guilty of these things?"

Another nod.

"Yes." She could tell that he wanted to say more, but he held his tongue. Teyla nodded in acknowledgement.

"You may step back," she said. His guards helped him to his feet, and they backed away. Teyla sat back down and gestured to one of the men she had chosen for the council to rise.

"Fehr, speak," she said to him as he stood. Fehr was a very quiet, very observant man; of all of her people he would give the most accurate telling of the events as best as they were known between Ronon's testimony and what had actually happened. He could tell gossip from fact. She knew she could trust him; she wanted the truth, and Fehr would tell it.

"I know that there has been much debate on this man's crimes," he said in a surprisingly strong voice for one who spoke so little, "and so I will explain as well as I can from what little that we know, so that there is no confusion among us about why we hold this trial..."


	3. chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

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_**Eight Hours Eariler...**_

_Ronon, in spite of the run that he had been having putting young, cocky kids in their places (it was like sparring with Sheppard), jumped on Halling's request to come with him to inspect the weapons cache. Teyla was coming later that day, and he couldn't really focus on teaching anymore; he just kept remembering his sparring match with her the day before. He needed a new distraction; or at least, some place where he could think of her in peace. The long walk to the weapons cache would do just that. _

_At least, that had been his reasoning when he'd agreed. One thing he'd forgotten was that given the right subject, Halling was quite a talker._

_"Thank you for coming," he said after they'd been walking for a few minutes. "Everyone has been eager for you to come, to see what you can teach us. My boy, Jinto..." and he had gone off on a tangent about his son. A typical father, but Ronon couldn't focus. He checked out and withdrew into his memories..._

_**Flashback**_

_Ronon grinned as the door slid shut behind Sheppard. _

_"He did the right thing," he said, grinning at Teyla. She smiled back radiantly at him, sending shivers up his spine. _

_"Since we now have a few more minutes..." the mischief in her eyes was contagious. Acting as fast as he could, he tried to tickle her again, and their war continued. _

_After another ten minutes or so of chasing each other around the gym, they both agreed to another truce, their game having exhausted them as much as any sparring match. _

_Ronon smiled at her as she took as sip from her water bottle. _

_"That was impressive, Warrior Emmagan," he teased. "You are a worthy opponent." He hoped that she would play along, and he was not disappointed. _

_"As are you, Warrior Dex," she answered. "Though you still have much to learn."_

_"Does the student know more than the master?"_

_"If you are the student, no."_

_"Hey!" he protested, laughing in spite of himself. Teyla shrugged. _

_"I speak only the truth," she said, before turning her back and kneeling to look through her bag. _

_"Teyla, this is just a game; you're kidding, right?" No answer. "Right?"_

_"I've never known you to play games, Ronon Dex," she said coolly. Ronon's smile fell. Maybe he had actually insulted her?_

_"Teyla, come one, you know I was kidding; I was acting stupid. I just wanted to make you laugh..." Apparently she already was. She turned to him, a dazzling smile on her face and her shoulders shaking with barely contained mirth. _

_"Ronon, I know! Am I not allowed to tease you back?" Ronon realized what she had been doing then, and his face reddened even as he spoke. _

_"Okay, okay, you got me; can we not worry me anymore now?" Still laughing softly to herself, Teyla nodded. _

_"Very well," she said. Ronon sat down beside her, but still at a wary distance just in case she changed her mind suddenly about the truce. Teyla seemed oblivious to the fact, though; she was already talking again. _

_"I've never seen you like this before, Ronon. What has changed?"_

_"I don't know," he shrugged. "It's just good to be back here, doing all this stuff again; especially after that whole thing with the ancients and the replicators... It's nice to be able to relax with you again..."_

_**End Flashback**_

_"Ronon?" Halling was looking at him nervously. "Are you alright?" Ronon reluctantly pushed the memory out of the front of his mind. _

_"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," he said. "I was just remembering something. Sorry." The worried look left Halling's eyes. _

_"I see," he said. They walked the next few moments in silence. _

_"You love her, don't you?" _

_Ronon blinked. _

_"What?" he began. "Who---?"_

_"Teyla," the Athosian said earnestly. "You love her, I can see it; she is what is distracting you so." Ronon searched for an appropriate answer and found none. Halling took his silence as the "yes" that it was. _

_"I always suspected..." he trailed off, shaking his head and smiling a little. "You know, if you ever decide to marry her, you have my permission." That comment made Ronon stop in his tracks. _

_"What?"_

_"I am her last protector," Halling shrugged. "Her parents, her family, and her other two protectors are gone. Charin would have been the only other person that would have had the authority to grant you permission, but she is dead, too. I am all that is left." he paused. "It is Athosian custom that you ask someone in the family, or a protector. I am her protector, and I give you permission if you wish it."  
_

_"And if I ever _did_ decide to ask about something like that... what would you say _after_ I asked?"  
_

_"To find that out, you will need to ask," Halling said, a secretive smile on his face. Ronon pretended to lose interest._

_"Thanks," he muttered; and started walking again. _

_Shaking his head, trying not to laugh, Halling matched his pace with the Satedan's._

_They reached the weapons cache, and over the next two hours the two men systematically went through each weapon, making sure that they were clean and loaded and ready. Halling sang softly while they worked, but they talked little. Which was just fine with Ronon; he was still trying to figure out if what Halling had said before was a joke or not. _

_Eventually, they had reached the last of the weapons, and Halling saw something odd that had been hidden underneath the rest of the weapons. He picked it up. _

_"What is this?" he wondered out loud, holding it up and squinting at it. Ronon looked up to see what he was talking about... and the thing exploded in their faces. _

Ronon pretended to listen to Fehr as he recited the story and explained the limits of the trial; and he watched Teyla distractedly. She wouldn't look back at him for more than a moment, but his eyes refused to stray from her face. He was desperate to know her thoughts; whether or not she believed his plea. He had been completely honest when he'd promised that it hadn't been him and he didn't know what exactly had happened or why. But in a matter like this, he wasn't sure if Teyla would take his word against that of her people.

But as hard as he looked, he could guess nothing from her face except deep, rooted sadness. He didn't know whether that was good or bad. Her neutral leader's mask was painted on thick, and even he who knew her best could not read her.

Fehr finished his speech, and the clamor of protests that followed captured some of Ronon's attention. Apparently, they were not pleased with the boundaries that the man had defined.

"_Silence!_" he roared in his surprisingly resonant voice. No one dared to disobey. "This is a trial, not an execution. If and when the time comes for us to do justice to the guilty, the punishment and its manner will be discussed." Ronon found a bit of hope in Fehr's wording; he had not called _him_ guilty---at least, not directly---yet. Maybe there was a chance that he could find an ally in this man.

After responding to several more similar outcries from the people, Fehr resumed his seat and gestured to Teyla. She rose slowly once more, spreading her arms until everyone was silent. Then she looked up.

"This trial will be open," she said firmly. But her voice lowered for her next word. "Begin." She sat back down, and Ronon had about three seconds to wonder what an "opened trial" was before one of the again-noisy Athosians was taken from his place and brought to the clearing, where he bowed respectfully to Teyla and her council before turning to face the people.

"My friends!" He had to shout to be heard over the ccried of his people. "I stand here today to speak against this man, this _traitor_, who we once thought to call an ally." The people were quiet now, but still the man shouted as he spoke against Ronon.

"We took him in! We gave him food, shelter, anything tha the asked for while he was here. We trusted him with our _children_, and this is how he gives us thanks?! Luring away one of our leaders into a trap and trying to kill him?!

"Halling, of all people, trusted him! He has spoken for him before in the past; and he is the one who now lies _dead_because of this man's treachery!" Ronon was shocked; Halling was dead?!

He saw Teyla shoot to her feet angrily, and he hoped past his regret that she was going to defend him now. But her words were not for him.

"Halling is not dead," she corrected the man firmly. "Do not give crimes to him that have not yet been committed."

"But Halling will die!"

"No, he will not! The healer is with him now, and Dr. Beckett is on his way. Halling is _not _going to die." Maybe it was just because Ronon knew her so well; but to him, she sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as her people.

Her telling the man off didn't seem to deter him much; he bordered on fanatic, and continued to spout of lies about what was happening with Halling, or things that Ronon had done in the past. He was constantly being corrected by either Teyla or Fehr, but it was clear that they were both tiring. Ronon wondered how much longer Teyla would let him speak; if she was allowed to limit him.

It was Fehr who finally stopped him, though from the look on Teyla's face, they had come to some silent agreement that if the man didn't, she _would_. Ronon took a moment to enjoy the image that came to mind of Teyla quieting the man.

One of his guards detached from him, and went to escort the man away; and a new witness was called up.

Ronon recognized the woman slightly, though he couldn't remember why. But as she spoke, it slowly began to come back to him.

She had been part of a hunting party that he had assisted once; there had been four others, and they had gone out for a week to track a herd of a deer-like animal that the Athosians favored. She had been a good hunter, he remembered; and she had also seen him at his best, what he could do.

"...I've never seen him burn someone before," she said, "but I have seen him with many other kinds of weapons. I do not know if it was by his hand that Halling was injured, nor do I know if he used any of his conventional weapons; but I believe that he does have the skills that it would have taken." It was not a wonderful testimony; but at least she wasn't outright accusing him of being a murderer.

When she had finished saying her piece, she stood silent and unsure in the middle of the clearing until Teyla nodded that she could return to her place. With a bow, the young woman did as she was told.

The next person to testify was little more than a child; he had been one of the students that Ronon had been teaching just a few short hours ago, before all of this crazy mess had happened.

"I think that Ronon is a good man," he said. "I do not know if he caused whatever it was that burned Halling or not; but I do not believe that he would have intentionally done it, even it is somehow his fault. He didn't hurt any of us, I do not think that he would hurt Halling." Ronon wanted to speak up and thank the kid; but he knew that he'd only get whacked again if he did. So he remained silent, giving him an encouraging look as he passed him on the way back to his place.

The next three people were more fanatics, and Ronon started tuning them out, letting his focus be consumed completely by Teyla. She was listening with a slightly pained look on her face---a look that he doubted any of her people would notice, because it was one that she only wore when he was in trouble. It wasn't much of an indicator either way, but at least it gave him some clue. It may have been that she was just sick of the over-zealous speakers, but he chose to believe that it was because she was not happy with the situation; the fact that he was on trial. He took it as a sign that she believed him.

That thought gave him the tiniest bit of hope, and he clung to that as the accusations continued.


End file.
